Welcome, winter

Julie Reichle

The San Francisco skyline with Jupiter and Saturn visible in the sky 5:51pm

On the shortest day of the year, Exedra photographer Julie Reichle snapped photos of the winter solstice sunset from the corner of Bell and Blair, managing to catch the Great Conjunction / Christmas Star in the distance. It’s been nearly 400 years since Jupiter and Saturn passed so close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, making for a once-in-a-lifetime viewing.

Elizabeth Becker shared this photo by Paul Cannan, taken with a TeleVue Genesis SDF (102mm f/5.4) and a Canon EOS M6 Mark II, on the roadside of Mountaingate Way, Piedmont Pines. In it, you can see Saturn’s rings and two of Jupiter’s moons.

A beautiful sunset in the Bay Area on the evening of the winter solstice

A number of people gathered at Bell Avenue in order to see the “Great Conjunction” on winter solstice

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